I've lived in Socal all my life and in HS I was on the surf team, waking up every morning at 6am and head down to the beach before school started. I just want to know who actually surf's? Iv'e surfed behind the boat and it is fun but after awhile it get kind of gay, no offense.

I can't comprehend going out on the boat and just wake surfing the whole set.

I know some people just don't have access to the the ocean, but spending all this gas and loading the boat just to get a wave that is thigh high seams pointless.

Im not knocking on wake surfers at all haha. I also would like to see a sole wake surfer go out in the ocean the for the first time.

ALL(100%) of my 'hard core' surfing friends down in San Diego, who surf several few times a week, have tried wakesurfing and totally clown on it. The term that comes up most is 'wakesurfers are total kooks'

I surf and I'm an addict!!. I haven't found anything that gives me the same stress relief and peace as sitting there waiting for a set to roll through. I won't trade anything for an ice cream headache on a winter morning...if you know what I mean.

I personally don't clown wake surfing. If my life took me away from ocean access, I sure as hell would be wake surfing to get my fix. You have to work with what you have. Wake surfing beats tarp surfing.

I'm a wakesurfer... I love to do it, I think it's fun and can be frustrating and challenging just lime any other sports... Of course if you just ride the small wave it must be a bit borring put when you try doing spins, shuv-its, big-spin etc, that's where the fun begins!
But yet of course, if I could trade my boat and house on the lake in qc for a house near the beach in cali, I would anytime!

Why do you care? I wake surf whenever its windy or I'm broken from riding. Its super fun and takes a lot of skill. Don't know why people feel the need to hate on it, like they are too "core" for it or something. Whatever.

Im a big fan of real surfing. I am terrible but its always a good feeling to get out there and catch some waves. Dont surf as much during summer cause of wakeboarding but I get out as much as possible. It also doesnt help i have no friends who want to paddle out in the cold water haha.

I'd love to actually get out and try surfing in the ocean, but for now we just wakesurf when the water is extremely rough.. generally middle of the day on the weekends. It's a good way to get everyone off the pier and into the boat. It's low impact and everyone still has some energy left when all the wallys leave the lake and it smooths out for an evening set.

To accurately answer yes, we chase the hurricane swells along the coast in the early Fall and late Summer. If I could be chilling waiting on the next set to roll in in the morning I would. I grew up getting up at 6am and wakeboarding, slaloming, barefooting, trick skiing. When those sets were done we turned to anything and everything else, from trash can lids to 10' nose riders, skim boards, a 5' fish, a plastic table, basically anything we saw that looked like we could ride it and make crap up to do behind the boat. A few of those things morphed into a pretty fun little gig called wakesurfing.

It's a backyard, lake bum creation that was spurred by land locked board riders, much like the wakeskate, cable parks, whinches. No Hawaiians or ancient tribes were involved but it's still a pretty good way to chill and enjoy the lake.

I tired to surf once and it was my first time... I thought I was going to die!!! There's a system in real surfing and I couldn't get it. Trying to paddle out was a joke and the duck dive looked more like a floating log dive to yard sale. Funniest part was busting my ass to paddle out what seemed like 5 min, ended up getting tossed and I was only in waste deep water LMFAO!!!

Those of you who post here regularly know.... I was as avid of a wakeboarder as there has EVER been. I rode everyday and thought nothing could come close to the mental release of riding boat or cable... until I moved to the beach and started surfing. I live 50 yards from the water and surf everyday that we have so much as a dribble of waves. I dedicated the last 5 years of my life to being a better wakeboarder and loved every minute of it... and that has basically been thrown out the window since I started surfing

Surfing is the most organic experience in all of sports... its the most amazing matching of mother natures natural movement and spontaneous human involvement. You don't need gas, you don't need man made obstacles, you don't need a chair lift, you don't even need money (other than a few hundy to buy a board). I track weather patterns everyday just waiting for nature to provide the gift of good waves... every single wave is different than the last... and there is nothing that compares to droping in and starting down the line of a perfectly groomed wave just waiting to be ripped.

Learning to surf is painstaking and one of the most difficult things even a natural athelete will ever attempt to master. I've had countless wake / atheletic friends come down to visit thinking they'd figure it out in a weekend... and after an hour in the water they were ready to throw up But once you get it dialed... there is nothing better.

As far as wake surfing is concerned its pretty fun but of no comparison to the real thing. That being said... check out Taj ripping the BIGGEST WAKEWAVE I've ever seen in this clip... pretty rad

I even do it when it's glassy. I prefer glass. (it DOES make a difference)

I surf in the ocean, I flowride, and I wakeskate. I like to do different things. But wakesurfing is a lot of fun. It is great to ride an endless wave and be able to do tricks I could never do in the ocean (besides Brad Domke, that guy is so sick!). There is just something about being unattached and being able to shuv, spin, catch air, and a bunch of other moves in a line.

I dont wakesurf as an alternative to surfing or ocean skimboarding. I wakesurf because I want to wakesurf. It's a different sport with its own unique feeling and its own difficulties.

Wakesurfing might seem boring to someone on a weak wave with a crap board, but when you can actually ride on something that will allow you to get air and do tricks, its a totally different sport. There is a lot more to wakesurfing than standing in one spot and drinking a beer. But sadly, most people dont know what's actually possible on these boards.

Those of you who post here regularly know.... I was as avid of a wakeboarder as there has EVER been. I rode everyday and thought nothing could come close to the mental release of riding boat or cable... until I moved to the beach and started surfing. I live 50 yards from the water and surf everyday that we have so much as a dribble of waves. I dedicated the last 5 years of my life to being a better wakeboarder and loved every minute of it... and that has basically been thrown out the window since I started surfing

Surfing is the most organic experience in all of sports... its the most amazing matching of mother natures natural movement and spontaneous human involvement. You don't need gas, you don't need man made obstacles, you don't need a chair lift, you don't even need money (other than a few hundy to buy a board). I track weather patterns everyday just waiting for nature to provide the gift of good waves... every single wave is different than the last... and there is nothing that compares to droping in and starting down the line of a perfectly groomed wave just waiting to be ripped.

Learning to surf is painstaking and one of the most difficult things even a natural athelete will ever attempt to master. I've had countless wake / atheletic friends come down to visit thinking they'd figure it out in a weekend... and after an hour in the water they were ready to throw up But once you get it dialed... there is nothing better.

As far as wake surfing is concerned its pretty fun but of no comparison to the real thing. That being said... check out Taj ripping the BIGGEST WAKEWAVE I've ever seen in this clip... pretty rad

This brings up an interesting point. I want to preface what I am about to say with a few things.

1 - I get that it's a lake sport and that lakes are small
2 - I get that it spawned from the wakeboard scene

With that said. I don't get why people continue to but boats DEDICATED to wake surfing, and insist that rather than buying a boat that naturally draws a lot of water, that they just "sack out" a 20 foot boat. If you want a huge wave, just buy an old 30ft inboard and you'd have an instant waist high wave with a huge pocket and rideable surface.

My guess is that most people want to be able to do both. A lot of people ONLY wakesurf though, so I don't get why those people are so fixated on buying wakeboard brand boats.

Maybe one of you all have the answer? Feel free to show me wrong. I'd love to have an answer.

This brings up an interesting point. I want to preface what I am about to say with a few things.

1 - I get that it's a lake sport and that lakes are small
2 - I get that it spawned from the wakeboard scene

With that said. I don't get why people continue to but boats DEDICATED to wake surfing, and insist that rather than buying a boat that naturally draws a lot of water, that they just "sack out" a 20 foot boat. If you want a huge wave, just buy an old 30ft inboard and you'd have an instant waist high wave with a huge pocket and rideable surface.

My guess is that most people want to be able to do both. A lot of people ONLY wakesurf though, so I don't get why those people are so fixated on buying wakeboard brand boats.

Maybe one of you all have the answer? Feel free to show me wrong. I'd love to have an answer.

Thank you, that my point. People go spend $60k+ with the intention just to wake surf. Load the boat with thousands of pounds of ballast only to get a 2ft wave. Me, I would rather save the gas and hang out on the beach listening to music then ride a glass sesh in the evening.

Now, Ive surfed all my life. I went and tried to surf the wedge in Newport on a 12ft day (that is small compared to the 25 footers that roll in on big swells) and i have never been so scared in my life. For all you guys that want to see some gnarly stuff just youtube surfing the wedge or the wedge september 2, 2011, or the wedge big swell, 7/25/09 (some guy got caught in the rocks and died the day before)

Last edited by kx250frider617; 05-31-2012 at 1:01 PM.
Reason: updating

Oh, and just for reference, I have been ocean surfing since I am 14 years old. I also grew up on boats. I don't get out surfing much anymore since I live 2 hours from the beach. That's really the reason that I took up seriously wakeboarding to begin with. Surfing and snowboarding were my primary sports. Owning a boat and wakeboarding has been pretty natural for me to get into. Wakesurfing is fun, but it's certainly not nearly as excting as ocean surfing.

I can't comprehend going out in the cold salty water to get pummeled by 20 waves just to surf a wave for two seconds! I was just on a lame surfer site(most of them are) telling them how great wakesurfing is and how I love being in the boat with my own portable wake that I can take wherever I want and surf(real surfing!) for as long as I want! No waiting in line for me! Oh, and I can ride a surfboard goofy and regular, I bet there aren't too many "real" surfers that can do that!

I totally would agree with that statement. I just fell in love with wakesurfing, and I rarely ride boat anymore. I love cable but boat just hurts too much these days, and I am not that spectacular behind the boat so the pain just isn't worth it in my mind.

your board in that first pic looks so wide. like 21 inches wide or something. thin that bitch up.

What surfer only has one board? Thats just a dumpster diver thruster. The board I ride probably 100% of the time is a 6'0" retro single fin. If you want some Old Man respect out in the water, you ride a single fin.

why would anyone hate on any watersport, if you participate in any other kind of watersport?? Some of us do not live anywhere near a ocean, so we are limited. 90% of the wakeboarders on our lake can't even jump wake to wake. I wakeboard, wakeskate, wakesurf, paddle board, and have 2 ACL repairs done, so it is nice to not beat myself up all day wakeboarding, and take a mellow wakesurf session. Yes I have surfed in the ocean before, but the cost of gas in my boat is way cheaper then buying a tix to Hawaii, not sure why you would wonder what others spend their money on. Funny how people think they are so hard core to one sport that they have to diss others.

why would anyone hate on any watersport, if you participate in any other kind of watersport?? Some of us do not live anywhere near a ocean, so we are limited. 90% of the wakeboarders on our lake can't even jump wake to wake. I wakeboard, wakeskate, wakesurf, paddle board, and have 2 ACL repairs done, so it is nice to not beat myself up all day wakeboarding, and take a mellow wakesurf session. Yes I have surfed in the ocean before, but the cost of gas in my boat is way cheaper then buying a tix to Hawaii, not sure why you would wonder what others spend their money on. Funny how people think they are so hard core to one sport that they have to diss others.

Also, growing up in the ocean and surfing all my life. I have the right to Hate on spongers and kneeboarders. It is just in my DNA to not like those sports. They get to sit way inside and they drop in on every single wave.

What surfer only has one board? Thats just a dumpster diver thruster. The board I ride probably 100% of the time is a 6'0" retro single fin. If you want some Old Man respect out in the water, you ride a single fin.

don't think i even remotely inferred you only had one board. obviously a really cool surfer such as yourself would have multiple and feel the need to alert people on the internet. seems like you're pretty stoked on bragging about your surfing on this site..also, riding retro boards is for kooks..like you.

don't think i even remotely inferred you only had one board. obviously a really cool surfer such as yourself would have multiple and feel the need to alert people on the internet. seems like you're pretty stoked on bragging about your surfing on this site..also, riding retro boards is for kooks..like you.